In 1988, the magician Bob Couttie criticized the paranormal author Brian Inglis for deliberately ignoring evidence of fraud in mediumship. Couttie wrote Inglis had not familiarized himself with magician techniques.[178] In 1990 the researcher Gordon Stein discovered that the levitation photograph of the medium Carmine Mirabelli was fraudulent. The photograph was a trick as there were signs of chemical retouching under Mirabelli's feet. The retouching showed that Mirabelli was not levitating but was standing on a ladder which was erased from the photograph.[179]

Through channeling, we are able to connect to your Akashic Record to find out what your purpose is and what lessons you are supposed to be learning. Many times, we will find ourselves in the same situations, relationships, etc. until we learn the intended lesson and grow from it. Many times, our clients find this to be the biggest “aha!” moment for them when they can see the bigger picture and learn what they were supposed to learn.
While the tarot is the most widely known, it’s just one type of deck used for divination; others include common playing cards and so-called oracle decks, a term encompassing all the other fortune-telling decks distinct from the traditional tarot. Etteilla eventually switched to using a traditional tarot deck, which he claimed held secret wisdom passed down from ancient Egypt. Etteilla’s premise echoed the writings of Court de Gébelin, who allegedly recognized Egyptian symbols in tarot-card illustrations. Though hieroglyphics had not yet been deciphered (the Rosetta Stone was rediscovered in 1799), many European intellectuals in the late 18th century believed the religion and writings of ancient Egypt held major insights into human existence. By linking tarot imagery to Egyptian mysticism, they gave the cards greater credibility.
Two, some psychic mediums can hear spirits. In this method, the spirits actually talk to the psychic medium verbally. The psychic medium may hear the communication in their mind (like hearing thoughts), or they may hear the spirit the way they would hear you or I talking to them. Unfortunately, some spirits are not the greatest communicators and what the psychic medium actually hears may sound more like a faint radio station than a clear telephone signal. This is one reason why some readings are so detailed and accurate while others are sketchy. Just try talking to someone using a cheap set of walkie-talkies and you’ll experience what it’s like chatting with a weak communicator from the spirit world.

Every reading is different – sometimes we are working more with spirits that have crossed over and doing a lot of channeling back and forth. Sometimes, we allow the guides and spirits to let loose and share all of the topics that they have been so eager to talk to you about. Sometimes, our clients want us to call in their loved ones that are alive (Heart Reading), and we work on mending their relationship. The experience varies, which makes the readings so much fun! There are always lessons to be shared from your guides and words of wisdom that have changed our lives, as well.

You can find the psychics on various online websites who can offer Tarot Card readings, Palm readings, numerology readings, astrological (birth chart) readings etc. and also help you with issues related to relationships, career or personal life. However, they are generally expensive. I find that local psychics and sensitives ask a more reasonable hourly rate. Because they are in the room with you, you get a more personal relationship as well.
Mina Crandon claimed to materialize a "spirit hand", but when examined by biologists the hand was discovered to be made from a piece of carved animal liver.[143] The German apport medium Heinrich Melzer was discovered to be a fraud in 1926. In a séance psychical researchers found that Melzer had small stones attached to the back of his ears by flesh coloured tape.[144] Psychical researchers who investigated the mediumship of Maria Silbert revealed that she used her feet and toes to move objects in the séance room.[145]
Open readings address the larger aspects of your life rather than a specific problem area or question. They're usually done when you're entering a new phase of life, such as getting married, graduating from college or starting a family. You can somewhat direct the reading if you have a general area you want to cover, such as your career or health, but that's as specific as the direction gets.
With your permission, I connect on a soulful resonance to bring forth messages and healing energy from within you and out to you for further remembering, exploration, and transformation. combining both universal wisdom and the wisdom of your soul, within soul to soul one on one communication and message, these two essences BEing as One within One Spiritual Soul Channel Reading for you. Each reading explores your Soul Life Purpose, what your soul is inviting you to remember, embrace, and treasure within this Life Experience. Using the ancient wisdom tools of Soul Mediumship, as well as intuitive guidance, I will explore with you, your spiritual destiny and the specific gifts you have chosen to experience within this Life Experience. I will also identify the cycle of energies you are embracing in this moment in direct application to your current life situation.
By comparing various decks from different time periods, tarot-card enthusiasts can identify the evolution of certain illustrations. “For example,” says Matthews, “the modern version of the hermit with the lantern, you’ll find that that was an hourglass and he was Saturn or Chronos, the keeper of time. You can see how that translates with the Tarot Bolognese meaning of delay or blockage. It was about time moving slowly, though that’s not used as a modern meaning much now.”
One frequent obstacle with spiritual reading is the question of where to start. There are so many writings of saints, magisterial documents, and enough devotional books and pamphlets to fill a library. Choosing what kind of books to read should have a multi-pronged approach, depending on each individual. I think a great way to organize it is an adaptation of St. John Paul II’s recommendations in Pastores Dabo Vobis. The encyclical was on the training of priests, and he called attention to four basic areas of formation: human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral. Even though most of us aren’t ordained priests, we can still apply this to our spiritual reading habits. Good spiritual reads will ideally aid us in all four of those elements—or at least focus on one or two.

While the tarot is the most widely known, it’s just one type of deck used for divination; others include common playing cards and so-called oracle decks, a term encompassing all the other fortune-telling decks distinct from the traditional tarot. Etteilla eventually switched to using a traditional tarot deck, which he claimed held secret wisdom passed down from ancient Egypt. Etteilla’s premise echoed the writings of Court de Gébelin, who allegedly recognized Egyptian symbols in tarot-card illustrations. Though hieroglyphics had not yet been deciphered (the Rosetta Stone was rediscovered in 1799), many European intellectuals in the late 18th century believed the religion and writings of ancient Egypt held major insights into human existence. By linking tarot imagery to Egyptian mysticism, they gave the cards greater credibility.

The program known as “John Holland” is currently playing, and when this program is finished (that is, when I pass away) the program will go back into the hard drive (oversoul), and another program from the hard drive will come forth and play out. So the program that is known as “John Holland,” the personality and all the memories that I lived here in that lifetime, will always be in the oversoul.

“The imagery was designed to reflect important aspects of the real world that the players lived in, and the prominent Christian symbolism in the cards is an obvious reflection of the Christian world in which they lived,” he adds. As divinatory usage became more popular, illustrations evolved to reflect a specific designer’s intention. “The subjects took on more and more esoteric meaning,” says Wolf, “but they generally maintained the traditional tarot structure of four suits of pip cards [similar to the numbered cards in a normal playing-card deck], corresponding court cards, and the additional trump cards, with a Fool.”
Saint after saint has pointed out the positives of spiritual reading. Reading features rather prominently in the 6th century Rule of St. Benedict. Sundays are to be devoted to reading and meals are to be held in silence, with one of the monks reading to the community. St. Alphonsus Ligouri noted that “we cannot always have access to a spiritual Father for counsel in our actions, and particularly in our doubts; but reading will abundantly supply his place by giving us lights and directions to escape the illusions of the devil and of our own self-love, and at the same time to submit to the divine will.” Many spiritual masters urged reading the lives of the saints for encouragement and models of holiness. Padre Pio recommended spiritual reading in general, but particularly for difficult times in our lives:
The Bible says, "For the living know that they will die; but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, their hatred, and their envy have now perished; nevermore will they have a share in anything done under the sun." In other words, for sure we know it couldn't be Samuel, because when we die, we "know nothing." (For more information on what happens when we die, see our topic on Death).
The Burning Question reading is for times when you have a question that needs to be answered immediately—a burning question, if you will. A card symbolizing the question is placed at the center of the spread with the remaining six cards placed around it, suggesting the shape of a flame as it clings onto an object. Spread created by veteran tarot reader Laura Mead-Desmet.